Monday, June 30, 2014

I am not a Monster Hunter International fan. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I WAS NOT a Monster Hunter International fan before this, the fifth book in the Monster Hunter series. While I stand second-to-none in my respect for their intrepid best-selling author, I found the first four books in the series to be a little too vanilla urban fantasy for my tastes. Violent vanilla, to be sure, even XXXtreme vanilla, but vanilla nonetheless. Which isn't to say that they are not fun and entertaining; they are, in fact, exactly the sort of books that harbor great appeal to red-blooded men who like big guns and pretty women with big breasts, and who are willing to defend civilization and society as the hard men standing between the monsters and the innocent.

Translation: I liked Mack Bolan back in the day too. This doesn't mean I ever confused it with great literature. Or even interesting literature.

I found Correia's Grimnoir Chronicles to be of considerably more interest. Unlike most Western authors, Correia is able to write a respectful portrayal of the Japanese warrior culture without coming off as the sort of obsessed round-eye who puts on a red kimono to drink ocha every afternoon. (I am an East Asian Studies major who spent a semester abroad in Tokyo, and I still speak a smattering of Japanee. So I knew a few guys like that.) I also found that the Grimnoir characters, despite their superhuman abilities, were more fully developed and interesting than their MHI counterparts.

So, what was fascinating about reading Monster Hunter Nemesiswas to see the way Correia upped his game and took the book to a higher level. The way in which he did so was rather remarkable, because he somehow managed to improve the depth and scope of his writing without sacrificing even one iota of the violence-fueled action of the previous books.

In the first four books, Agent Franks is little more than a superweapon and an repetitive joke: "Oh shit, it's Franks!" As with most street drugs and urban fantasy series, Correia finds it necessary to keep raising the oppositional ante in order to maintain the reader's interest, which might seem a little conceptually challenging considering that the big boss at the end of the third book was an extradimensional Elder God and the collateral damage involved a considerable portion of the city of Las Vegas.

And so he raises the ante, but not in any of the cheap and obvious ways so common to lesser authors. Instead, Correia provides a backstory to his take on Frankenstein's monster that is both more interesting and comprehensive than the customary one. This backstory, which is directly integral to the plot, is deftly revealed in vignettes as the current story plays out.

For the first time, Larry Correia draws upon his religious background, and in doing so he brings both intellectual depth and emotional poignancy to the world of Monster Hunter that it previously lacked. Franks is revealed to be far more than monstrous construct, he is shown to be a complex, noble being whose inhuman sociopathy is the logical consequence of his alien values, motivations, and restrictions.

Larry Correia may not win the Hugo Best Novel Award in 2014 for Warbound. But his Monster Hunter Nemesis is likely to be a contender for next year's award. This is a very good book by a best-selling author who is confident in his ability and is beginning to hit his stride.

Characters (9/10) Correia fleshes out existing characters both major and minor; his use of Heather the red-headed werewolf as a reluctant government agent desperate to earn her PUFF exception is particularly adroit. One of the major antagonists is well-portrayed, the other remains more than a bit of a mystery, and is alarmingly convincing in his ruthlessly efficient use and abuse of the bureaucratic power struggles between the various federal agencies.

Prose (7/10) One doesn't read Correia for the stylistic pyrotechnics or the obscure literary allusions. It's akin to contemplating the fuel-efficiency of a Lamborghini. That being said, his prose is smooth and easy, regardless of whether he is describing the splattering of a reanimated collection of corpses by a large, fast-moving vehicle or lovingly detailing the chambering action of a Glock* pistol. As an adept storyteller, Correia's style serves as simple lubricant for the story, just as it should be. He does have a certain lamentable habit of throwing in the occasional conversational rimshot, all of which will no doubt one day appear verbatim in the television series. Hey, if it works for Richard Castle....

Plot (10/10) A centuries-old contract between Franks and the U.S. government is being jeopardized by a grasping bureaucrat with a savior complex who rejects the idea that people in the past had legitimate reasons for doing as they did. Adroitly ties everything from Milton and Mary Shelley and Ben Franklin into the Monster Hunter mythos.

Ideas (8/10) Correia is moving well beyond the usual werewolves and vampires of generic urban fantasy. He is drawing effectively upon history, his tactical training experience, and his religious background, to say nothing of his accountant's eye view of government bureaucracy. Monster Hunter Nemesis is more than a mere action novel, it is an intelligent and occasionally thought-provoking action novel.

Text Sample: There was a commotion on the other side of the tent flap. Guards gave challenges, IDs were presented, and then there was a rush of apologies. The flap opened and several men entered the giant command tent. The first through were members of the MCB’s elite mobile strike team. They were hardened warriors who Franks had served with many times, and behind them was an innocuous looking, middle aged man in a cheap suit.Franks’ arms were chained to the chair, so he dipped his head slightly. “Sir.”“Why is my second in command tied up?” Dwayne Myers, Strike Team SAC, demanded. “What’s the meaning of this?”Foster’s response was about as belligerent as could be expected. “Agent Franks is charged with disobeying direct orders, violating security protocols by taking a civilian witness into a monster containment area, and then breaking into the Nevada storage facility to steal seized evidence.”“Is that true?” Myers asked.Franks nodded. That sounded about right, but Myers already knew most of the details, since it had secretly been his idea to begin with. Franks had taken Owen Pitt to Dugway because he’d thought the Monster Hunter’s psychic powers could help their investigation. He’d taken three ancient arcane weapons from Area 51 in order to fight the Nachtmar; Lord Machado’s ax, the Attilius gladius, and the Black Heart of Suffering. That last one had done the trick, and destroyed the creature.“When he was confronted about his actions, Franks attempted to kill MCB Director Douglas Stark.”Franks snorted. The five men covering him with drawn weapons backed away nervously. They were only following orders, but all of them had worked with Franks at some point, so they were aware that shooting Franks might upset him.“I’ve known Agent Franks for twenty years. He doesn’t attempt to kill anyone. Holster those side arms and unchain him. Franks is coming with me.” Myers had recently been demoted, but had been the Acting Director before that, and he was still probably the most respected senior agent in the Bureau.“Hold on,” Foster demanded. “Franks is in STFU custody.” It was almost like Foster thought that invoking the name of the ultra-secret Special Task Force Unicorn would strike fear into the federal agent’s hearts.Myers glanced around theatrically. “Really? Because these appear to be MCB men, and last I checked sworn MCB agents don’t take orders from an operation that doesn’t exist.” The MCB didn’t officially exist either, as it was just a line item on the Department of Homeland Security’s budget, but in this business there were levels of not existing.“Director Stark is—”“Hiding from this giant clusterfuck caused by his lack of leadership,” Myers said. “Our good Director must have forgotten that is against regulation 72 dash B to turn MCB handling of a level five containment to another entity, such as yours, without authorization from the President. So in the meantime I’m the highest ranking member of the MCB available, and I’m making the call. Cut Franks loose. I’m going back outside to try and contain the unholy mess you amateurs made out of one of America’s most popular tourist attractions, before every news agency in the world records video of a street full of ectoplasm and dragon parts. Is that understood, Mr. Foster?”It was clearly understood, but not particularly liked. “We’re not done, Myers.”“Oh, I believe that we are.” Myers glanced over and confirmed that the men had put their weapons away. “Remove Mr. Foster from my command tent.”“I’ve got it,” Franks said. One of the men had been looking for the key to the padlock, but Franks simply took up the chain in his bare hands and twisted until a link snapped. By the time anyone realized what was happening, the chains had already hit the floor and Franks had caught Foster by the arm and effortlessly lifted him off the ground. Foster winced in pain as Franks carried him to the nearest flap, and hurled the Unicorn operative into the street.

*Let no one henceforth say Larry Correia is homophobic. No doubt the LGBT community appreciated the little shout-out.

Nice take and review. Would it not be the hoot should Correia win the Hugo for bestnovel two years running? With his fan base it could happen, regardless the pinkies, pederast, whore mongering cross dressers there at SFWA.

I haven't read it... but my experience is the MHI books can be stand alone novels... but its way more fun to read from the beginning. There are tons of characters and tons of history between those characters and the group dynamics will be lost on you if you don't start at the start.

I read one of the earlier ones a while back and was pretty meh about it. Which is why I was wondering if I could see if this one really does take the series to a higher level without slogging through the prior 4 novels.

Is this a suitable entry point for the series, or do we need to start at the first?

No, you need to start at the beginning.

Seconded. The discovery of various intricacies of the characters and storylines requires a read from start to finish. This would be like picking up Return of the King without reading the first two books in the trilogy. Total ruination of the worldbuilding.

I put down MHI after the first novel. Good, like you said, but vanilla. Having read this review I'll probably go back to the Monster Hunter franchise after I finish the Grimnoir chronicles - which are far better than MHI, IMO.

But honestly, I wish Larry would forget this novel writing nonsense and focus on what he's really good at: cartoons. Now that's his best work, right there.

The first 3 books are available in an omnibus collection call The Monster Hunters. Bear in mind, the first book was explicitly written from the mindset of monster movie with his type of people populating it (gun enthusiasts, or Burt from the movie series Tremors). Expect lots of gun porn description.

At one time you could by the first three as an ebook for under $10 from Baen books.The print version weighs in at 1191 pages. The ebook is a great value and buying directly from Baen gives it to you in a wide variety of formats without DRM.The Monster Hunters

> The ebook is a great value and buying directly from Baen gives it to you in a wide variety of formats without DRM.

That is a major selling point, yes. I apologize for recommending the Kindle version instead. At the same price, the Baen option is the better deal. Unless you happen to be adept at de-drm'ing Kindle titles, of course.

I have to admit that I thought Monster Hunter: Alpha was the best of the series before Nemesis. If Nemesis is even better? That would be a really good sign for the series going forward.If you liked Alpha, you will like Nemesis. Alpha is similar to Nemesis in that both give you the origin story of the character and shows why both loathe STFU.

I just finished MHI: Legion last night, and looking forward to Nemesis this week. What's not to like, they are pure popcorn with some obvious undercurrent of philosophy and thought. Heroes with guns! It's a nice bit of diversion, but they don't last long enough. ;)

I'm reading Tolkien's "The Monsters and The Critics: and Other Essays", and just finished his Fairy Tale essay. It was an interesting juxtaposition to MHI, especially considering how Urban Fantasy tends to be so intentionally disrespectful to the ideas of heroes and monsters in highly postmodern ways, and MHI is all about classic heroes facing real monsters for the benefit of the world. Very refreshing.

"Correia is able to write a respectful portrayal of the Japanese warrior culture without coming off as the sort of obsessed round-eye who puts on a red kimono to drink ocha every afternoon. (I am an East Asian Studies major who spent a semester abroad in Tokyo, and I still speak a smattering of Japanese. So I knew a few guys like that.)"

I lived in Japan for several years and I can't decide which is more irritating, the loudmouthed frat-douches who spend years in the country getting drunk every other day and never learn a word of the language, or the self-important cultural elites who think that their anime/video game/comic fandom and lip-service appreciation to "traditional Japanese culture" makes them "so superior." Unfortunately these two extremes seemed to outnumber the normal people in the middle.

Gonna get MH:Franks in ebook format, sure enough. I am soon to complete some more meaty/challenging nonfiction and fantasy and will need to clean the literary palate with some literary BBQ beef and ice cold domestic beer.

I thought the weakest of the series was Vendetta.

Also, are there no fantasy authors writing _smaller_ stories these days? Think back to how Robert E Howard's Conan and Solomon Kane stories were not predicated on SAVING THE WORLD!!!!! Fritz Leiber's Fafrd & Grey Mouser stories are another example. If the heroes came through it all, lives intact and a nubile maiden on their hand, it was a win.

Not every story has to be a potential eschaton. Is the need to SAVE THE WORLD every book the influence of JRRT's LOTR? If so, I want more Hobbit-like, REH-like stories.

I lived in Japan for several years and I can't decide which is more irritating, the loudmouthed frat-douches who spend years in the country getting drunk every other day and never learn a word of the language, or the self-important cultural elites who think that their anime/video game/comic fandom and lip-service appreciation to "traditional Japanese culture" makes them "so superior."

The weebs are the worst. The "frat-douches", at least, have no pretense of being anything other than what they are.

roo_ster - Also, are there no fantasy authors writing _smaller_ stories these days? Think back to how Robert E Howard's Conan and Solomon Kane stories were not predicated on SAVING THE WORLD!!!!!

I enjoy a good SAVE THE WORLD! story as much as the next guy, but I must agree with your point. It's annoying that authors seem to think that they absolutely must up the ante in that regard.

I'd add that there don't seem to be any good exploration stories these days. The characters in Skylark of Space weren't trying to SAVE THE WORLD! but they still had harrowing adventures. The excitement came from the danger to their own lives presented by the mysterious new frontier. The same is true for Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Lost World.

**or you could just go back and read Things Fall Apart again and tell everyone how awesomely literate you are.

Whatever.

I'll take the gun porn.**

Touchy, touchy.

Reading the first book or two in a series from the library before you buy the rest is pretty reasonable, IMHO. Maybe in the elite circles you move in that's considered declasse, but I'll try to bear with your disapproval, somehow.

I thought MH:N was actually the weakest MH except for the first, which was clearly a first novel (although still enjoyable).

The biggest reason is that I didn't like Franks as a character, and having a book entirely focused on him bored me. There was never any tension because Franks was just bigger and badder than everyone else. It would've been a lot better with just one Nemesis instead of thirteen.

And I despised the deus ex that made Franks suddenly change sides in the middle of the Revolution. There were a dozen better ways to make him American.

Otherwise, it was good to know more of his world's backstory, and if you're a big MH fan, it's still a MH novel, and therefore awesome gun porn.

Also, are there no fantasy authors writing _smaller_ stories these days?...SAVE THE WORLD

Hear, hear. I think in part it's the same problem with murder mystery/cop procedural - if it isn't a serious problem like murder most foul it just doesn't justify the effort the characters put into solving the issue. If the world isn't ending, it's not really worth walking the length and breadth of the land zapping people with your magic and delving into deep mysteries and risking waking the Balrog. Stay home, smoke some pipeweed by the fire, get the garden planted so there will be food come winter.

That's one of the things I enjoy about L.E. Modesitt, Jr.'s books. It's more likely to be political or smaller power struggle than world ending issues - and even when the world is at stake, it's not a matter of "you are the chosen one and must quest for our salvation!"

Though I don't know that counting serials and sword and sorcery adventures as "Fantasy" in this case is quite correct. Certainly Tolkien's invention of the Fantasy genera was an issue of heroes and epoch-ending stories of high import, and modern fantasy books come from "more like LotR." Our subsequent retrofitting of sword and sorcery and planetary romances into the genera is fine, but it should be kept in mind that they are different.

Still, I'm not a boy any longer questing to save the world and make a difference, so I'm more interested in stories about changing my world and myself. "Young persons" still want to change the world just by existing or being given power - Harry Potter, superheroes. I want to read about the average person either becoming great or affecting the world just as a normal man, the fewer advantages the better.

I've thought that'd be a good way to handicap video games - on easy your genius olympic body builder character can basically play himself to victory, but if you want a challenge your character must start with an IQ of 75 and be a 90 pound weakling and you'll have to teach him how to walk straight.

I've got a Holmes-Ginsbook device with MH:N to be delivered tomorrow. MHI was OK - or rather, the 2nd half was excellent, the 1st half has way too much Mary Sue Shooter for me. The other three are great reads. Fun.

Though when they came out with a role-playing game, my first thought was that MHI would be fantastic for Steve Jackson Games' "Toon" RPG. Play a cartoon character making horrible monsters Fall Down! Save the World! Collect a paycheck!

Nice Mack Bolan reference. Bolan came to mind when I started reading Correia, so I went to the Wayback Machine recently and started re-reading The Executioner. They hold up pretty well. Of course they aren't diverse, but who cares.

MH: Upper Peninsula was a treat. It was strange mentally superimposing all the locations I know and love with zombie and demons. I will never visit the Quincy Mine, Delaware Mine or the other abandoned C&H mine locations without bending an ear and listening for strange noises far down below.

But what is Correia's connection with the Keweenaw? No one goes there.

I will never visit the Quincy Mine, Delaware Mine or the other abandoned C&H mine locations without bending an ear and listening for strange noises far down below. You should try exploring one of the Quincy out buildings after watching The Boogens. You don't even need to hear noises to get to the point where you just need to turn back.

I've also asked what the connection to The Sportsman's Paradise is, but never saw a response. I have a hunch it has something to do with a certain werewolf.

All along, Franks has reminded me of Bane, just the way he's perfectly comfortable using violence to get the job done.

Russell wrote:"I laughed at that, and I'm grateful I wasn't drinking anything at the time."

True, VD has put out some nice short-form & non-apocalyptic _small_ fantasy, so he is not the target of my reader's whinge. It was a freebie "The Last Witchking" that got me to buy ATOB, TWC, and Summa Elvetica(1). ATOB has "save the world" aspirations...or at least "save the civilization" designs so it is not a small fantasy story.

Read Summa Elvetica last because I thought I would like it least, but I was wrong. I think I liked it best. Longer story, but still smaller in scope than the usual fantasy fare with much more to chew and think on. And though smaller than an apocalypse, the internal ATOB-universe theological significance was considerable.

=========

Hunsdon wrote:"this is the first time in mankind's history that the Hobbit and Robert E. Howard have been linked together."

I can see your point but think on it: Bilbo doesn't save Middle Earth, he just wins a small chest of gold & jewels. Conan would have also left with a half-dozen of Lake Town's comeliest wenches in tow or maybe had his way with an elf maiden. Last we would see of the Cimmeran would be his back as he headed south to seek another fortune with the Black Corsairs.

"Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Númenor and the gleaming cities, and the rise of the sons of Isildur, there was an age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. Thither came Hobbit, a barrell rider, a reaver, a slayer, to tread on the jeweled thrones of the Middle-Earth beneath his furry feet." -- The Shire Chronicles

... Modestit. While he does blow up a moon, many of his works seem like 'A Letter to a Young Bueraucrat'.

Yes, it's an interesting difference to other authors, the politics and understanding of people. And at times he seems to be writing "engineering fantasy", which is fun. Duty, honor, personal growth, and problem solving - great themes. Gravity Dreams and Adamantite are two of my favorite SF books. And I love they way he expanded fantasy into Horse Cavalry settings.